


Winterhawk Prompt Fills

by saintnoname



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Children, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Angst, Brainwashing, Drabble Collection, Feels, M/M, Sign Language, deaf!Clint
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-28
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-01-26 23:20:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 6,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1706252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saintnoname/pseuds/saintnoname
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of Winterhawk prompt fills from tumblr.  Unless otherwise specified, none are related to each other.  I chose not to warn because I feel like only some of them need trigger warnings, and I'll list those in the chapter summary.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Love

Okay.  Bucky knew that mid-sex was probably not the best time to tell Clint he loved him for the first time.  But the urge was so strong and unstoppable that his hand formed the sign almost without his noticing.  It was so much easier to sign than to say aloud even if his partner couldn't hear.

Clint stopped moving and stared at Bucky.  Crap.  Bucky had fucked up.  He killed the mood.

Clint let go of Bucky to sign _You love me_?

Bucky looked away sheepishly.  "Uh, yeah."  He looked back at Clint and signed, _I love you_.

Clint smiled, and Bucky thought that maybe he hadn't fucked up so bad after all.  _I love you_ , Clint signed.  It didn't take them long to get back into the rhythm after that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Seeking solace

When they found out Bucky once had a thing with Natasha (or Natalia as he knew her), everyone assumed Bucky would want to pick up where he left off with her.  Instead, he couldn't stand to be in the same room as her. 

The only person who did understand was Natalia.  She knew why he couldn't face her.  Not after Odessa.  Not after DC.  She understood that even though she had forgiven him, he hadn't forgiven himself.  She understood that when they fell in love, they were both different people than they were now.  Natalia understood.  She had always understood him better than most people.

The person Bucky did latch onto was Clint Barton.  Here was a person who, like Natalia, knew what it was like to be unmade.  But unlike Natalia, Bucky had no baggage of past history to complicate things.

It began with them just talking until Bucky one day admitted he was having trouble sleeping alone.  Clint said that they could move Bucky's bed into his room so he didn't have to sleep alone anymore.  If Bucky wanted.  Only if Bucky wanted.

Bucky wanted.

Then one night, Bucky climbed into Clint's bed, and Clint didn't say anything.  He wordlessly pulled the blankets up over them and they fell asleep.  Maybe Clint didn't want to admit it, maybe not even to himself, but maybe he needed Bucky as much as Bucky needed him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Fairy tale

Somehow, miraculously the young male heirs of two neighboring kingdoms had managed to keep an affair going for years without anyone finding out.  The fact that they'd managed to keep it secret all those years probably had a lot to do with the fact that they didn't actively seek out each other's company.  But if they were ever in the same place at the same time, the pair would disappear for a while.  Neither of them called it love.

One day, a jealous, spiteful fairy put a curse on one of the young princes, James Barnes.  He fell to the floor, unconscious.  The fairy said he could only be awoken by true love's kiss.

James's family didn't know he liked men nor did they know he was involved with somebody.  They had no idea how to proceed.

After much deliberation, they decided on a course of action.  Every woman in the kingdom who was between the ages of eighteen and thirty would be invited for a chance to kiss the prince.

After a few days of trying, they decided to inform the neighboring kingdom of their situation and seek help.  When Clint Barton, the heir who was involved with James Barnes, read the news, his heart started to race.  Could it be?  He almost didn't dare to hope.  But he had to try.  James needed him.

Without letting anyone know where he'd gone, Clint rode out alone.  In retrospect, it was probably not his best idea, but it wasn't one of his worst ideas, which was saying something.

When he arrived, there was a line of women all the way outside the castle.  He pushed past them all, occasionally saying, "Do you know who I am?" if any of them gave him trouble.  Clint made his way up the stairs, following the line of women into James's chambers, where he was laid out on his bed.  His family sat around him, and their surprise when they saw Clint was evident on their faces.  After the girl who was currently kissing James left, Clint rushed to his bedside.  He sat there, building himself up to it.  If he kissed James right here, everyone in the room would know about himself and James.  But if there was even a possibility it would work...

Clint leaned down and kissed the other prince.  Seconds later, James opened his eyes, eliciting gasps from the others in the room.  The women who were still waiting to kiss him turned back disappointedly and left--and why wouldn't they be disappointed?  Why wouldn't they want the opportunity to kiss a handsome prince?

James blinked confusedly before sitting up.  "What happened?" he asked.

"You were asleep," Clint responded.

"You were cursed," responded James's father.

James looked between them.  "So why am I awake?"

Clint pursed a smile.  "The only way to wake you was true love's kiss."

James looked touched.  "You're my true love?"

"I don't know.  Am I?" Clint asked smugly, knowing full well he was or else he wouldn't have been able to break the curse.  But he wanted to hear it from James.

James knew exactly what Clint was up to, but decided to indulge him.  "I'd say that you are."

Clint couldn't hold back his huge grin.  "You're my true love, too."

James smiled in return.  This time, he was the one to kiss Clint.

And they lived happily ever after.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Seeing red
> 
> tw: brainwashing, memory loss

_Sputnik_.

The one word unraveled all the progress Bucky made.  Of course Hydra would build in a kill switch.  It was their final joke after to show that Hydra still had power even after being torn apart.

He didn't know his name.  He didn't know where he was from or who he was.  All he knew was his mission.

And right then, something was in the way of his completing his mission.

The blond man looked familiar, but that was of no consequence.  The man was an obstacle.

"Bucky," the man said.  He sounded broken, defeated.  _He was an obstacle_.

"I don't have a name," the soldier spat.  He aimed his gun for the other man and fired, but not before he could duck out of the way.

"Bucky, please!" the blond man cried.

The soldier's face contorted with disgust.  Why wasn't this man fighting him?  The soldier fired again.

"Bucky!" the man cried.  Then his voice fell to just about a whisper.  "James...don't you know me, James?"

The soldier stopped.  This man looked familiar.  This man was an obstacle.

Images flashed in his mind: pictures of them smiling together, laughing together.  Pictures of them in the same bed.  Fighting alongside each other.

This man was an obstacle.

The soldier dropped to his knees.  Cautiously, the blond man stepped out from behind his cover.  "James?" he said as he walked toward the soldier.

The soldier looked up at him.  "I know you.  Why do I remember you?"

The blond man smiled.  "I'm not sure if you'll believe me."

The soldier looked at him pleadingly.  "Tell me anyway?"

The blond man nodded.  "Okay."


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Can you hear me?
> 
> tw: serious injury

Clint's equilibrium had been thrown off by the explosion, and he was having a hard enough time simply _standing_ straight, let alone _walking_ straight.  He took a few wobbly steps before falling to his knees.

The ringing in his ears was so loud he couldn't hear anything else.  It felt like someone had taken a jackhammer and split open his skull.

Through the pain and ringing, Clint was vaguely aware of Bucky catching sight of him.  The second Bucky saw Clint, his expression became panicked and scared.  "Clint!"

An adept lip reader, Clint could _see_ Bucky's mouth form his name, but he couldn't _hear_ it.  Normally, that would have panicked him, but he was so out of it he barely noticed he couldn't hear.  He looked up at Bucky confusedly.

Bucky dropped to his knees in front of the other man.  "Clint," he repeated.  "Are you okay?"

Clint didn't answer.

Now, confusion joined the fear on Bucky's face.  He cook Clint's face between his hands.  "Clint?  Can you hear me?"

The pain finally got to be too much, and consciousness slid from Clint's grasp.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Tears

The car was quiet.  It was way too quiet.  "The service was nice," Clint said, breaking the silence. 

Bucky looked up from his hands to the man sitting next to him.  "Yeah.  It was a nice service."  Hr looked down at his hands again.

Clint decided to try reaching out to Bucky again--this time, literally.  His hand rested on Bucky's metal hand.  Bucky looked back at him and Clint made sure to make eye contact with him.  "I'm here for you.  Whatever you need.  I'm here."

Bucky pursed a smile before looking out the window.  His metal turned palm-side up so its fingers could lace with Clint's.  "She was just the last of my family from before.  I mean, my last family by blood."  Because although they weren't related, he considered Steve family, and he didn't know what he would do without him.  "I've got nieces and nephews who are technically older than me and great-nieces and great-nephews who are almost as old as me.  Technically.  I never met any of them before a few weeks ago and they still don't feel like family.  It's too awkward to be around them.  Things never felt awkward with Becca, even on her bad days toward the end.

Both men were silent for a moment before Clint spoke again.  "I'm glad I got to meet her, even if she didn't remember me afterward."

Bucky smiled at Clint, tears glistening in his eyes.  "I am, too."

Clint gave Bucky's hand a squeeze even though he knew Bucky's metal hand couldn't feel it.  It was the sentiment behind the action that counted.

Bucky pulled his metal hand from Clint's hand and replaced it with the hand that could feel.  Maybe for Clint, it was the sentiment that mattered, but Bucky needed that human contact.  "Just be with me," he said, voice cracking.  "Stay with me."

Clint nodded.  "I'm not going anywhere."  He brought Bucky's hand to his mouth and kissed it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Traps and teamwork

"How did we get into this mess?" Clint asked, looking up from the bottom of the hole he and Bucky had fallen into.   They'd been walking along and then fallen into the trap.  Fortunately, neither of them was hurt too badly, but there was still the question of getting out of there.

"I don't know," Bucky replied.  "But I'm pretty sure it's not my fault."

"Well, it's not _my_ fault."

"Sure it is.  I saw you staring at my ass.  You were probably so distracted you weren't watching where you were going."

Clint laughed incredulously. "Nice try!  But I was walking behind you and therefore you would have been the first to fall, and therefore it would have to be at least partly your fault."  Clint smirked.  "Maybe you were so distracted by noticing me staring at your ass that you weren't looking where you were going.

"Okay, it doesn't matter," Bucky replied flippantly, changing the subject after having clearly been caught.  "We need to get out of here, and we need to work together."

Clint smiled triumphantly, but he didn't jab Bucky any further.  Bucky was right.  If they were getting out of there, they'd have to work together.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint gets shot. Bucky is half way across the world on a separate mission. Clint calls him to say goodbye. (doesn’t necessarily have to die)

Bucky's running on rooftops in Kiev when his phone starts to ring.  He stops, confused when he sees it's Clint who's calling.  Clint has a mission and knows Bucky has one, too.  He wouldn't be calling unless something went wrong.

"Hello?" Bucky answers, voice shaking.

"Hey, Buck."  Clint practically grunts the words.  Bucky panics.

"Clint?  What happened?"

"I got shot.  It's pretty bad.  I'm not sure if I'll make it."

"Of course you'll make it."  Bucky  clings to the phone as if it's Clint himself.  "Don't talk like that.  Is medical on its way?"

"Yeah."  Clint coughs.  "But I don't think they're gonna get here in time.  And if I'm dying, I wanted your voice to be the last thing I heard.  I wanted to be sure I got the chance to say I love you one..."

He trails off.  The first couple seconds, Bucky waits for him to continue.  "Clint?"  Bucky swears his heart stops.  It feels like he's dying all over again, but this time, it's worse.  "Clint?"  There's silence from the other end.  "No.  No, no, no.  Come on, you asshole.  You don't get to die now."  He lets out a defeated sob.  "Not without giving me the chance to say I love you back."

He sits on the roof for a long time, phone pressed to his ear, listening for any hint of a sound, desperately  hoping to hear Clint's voice again.

He's been compromised.  He needs to leave the mission, and he needs to call in and say he can't complete his mission.  But he can't get himself to move.  He can barely get himself to keep breathing.

Finally, his phone starts to beep, indicating a call coming in.  He doesn't want to hang up on Clint.  Part of him feels like as soon as he hung up, Clint would try to talk to him again.  "I'm sorry, Clint," he says before answering the call.  It's Hill.

"Barnes?"

"Yeah?"

"It's Barton."

"I know.  He was shot.  Is he alive?"

Hill is silent a moment.  "He's en route to the hospital.  It doesn't look good."

For the first time since Clint called, Bucky feels like he can breathe.  "So he is alive."

"At this point, it's not guaranteed he'll stay that way," she says, not shying away from the truth, but delivering it in as gentle a way as possible.  She's never been in the position where she's had to tell someone their partner--and a guy she really liked, too, damn it--might be dying.  And there's nothing either of them can do about it.  "Why don't you take the night off?  We'll call you if anything changes.  Obviously, nobody expects you to work right now."

"Okay," Bucky replies.  "Thank you."

He hangs up and returns to his hotel room, changing into civvies before heading down to the hotel bar.  He loses himself between shots of whiskey and constantly checking his phone.  He knows he never deserved Clint, but Clint doesn't deserve this.  It's the cruelest possible way for fate to confirm to him that he doesn't deserve Clint after all.  To take him away now, after years, in _this fucking way_.  It's not fucking fair, and it's not what Clint deserves.

The phone finally buzzes, and he thinks it's his imagination at first.  He's imagined it buzzing multiple times already.  He answers it.  "Hello."

"Barnes."  Were he in a different mood, he'd probably be rolling his eyes at how Hill always addresses him on the phone.

"Is my boyfriend dead yet?" he asks flippantly, earning a raised eyebrow from the bartender.

"No.  In fact, he's stable.  It looks like he might pull through after all."

"Well, that's good.  It'd suck to be single again after being in a relationship for so long."

"Barnes."  Her tone is scolding.  "I know this is a defense mechanism, and it's not necessary.  I already bought you a plane ticket.  Your flight leaves in three hours."

Three hours followed by a flight across the Atlantic to get to Clint.  It's too long, but he knows it's the best Hill can do under the circumstances.  "Alright.  Thank you."

Waiting at the airport is hell.  The flight is hell.  The ride from the airport back in the states to the hospital Clint's staying at is hell.  He's got dark circles and can barely choke down the coffee Hill hands him when he approaches her in front of the hospital.

"He's stable, but not conscious," she explains and she leads him to where Clint is.  Steve and Natasha are sitting on a bench in the hallway, and he can tell Natasha has been crying.  The pair stand up when they see Bucky.  The two wrap their arms around Bucky and he's so grateful his two best friends are there or he might fall apart all over again.

They break the hug when the doctor approaches them.  The doctor looks at Bucky and asks, "Are you his partner?"

Bucky nods.

"We think he's going to pull through.  He's not awake, but would you like to see him?"

"Yes."

The doctor leads Bucky into the room.  He sees Clint hooked up to machines and knows that if Clint were conscious, he'd hate that.  Bucky takes Clint's hand. 

"He can hear you," the doctor assures.

"Good."  Bucky smiles weakly.  "Because I want him to know how pissed off at him I am for almost dying."

It's a couple days later when Bucky receives the call.  Clint is awake.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Protective Bucky
> 
> tw: character death

"No!" Bucky cried, shooting the nearest zombie.  Bang.  Right in the head.  It fell to the ground.  "Stay away from us!"  He dragged Clint's body a few more feet toward the nearby truck before stopping to shoot off another zombie's head.  He was _not_ going to let them have Clint.

Bucky continued the tedious process of alternating between carrying or dragging Clint toward the truck and fending off the undead until he got to the truck.  He managed to get Clint into the passenger's seat in one quick movement before climbing into the driver's seat himself.  The truck provided some shelter, but Bucky knew they needed to get out of there.  Otherwise, the zombies would eventually reach the truck and keep on pounding and pounding.  He would hotwire the truck and drive far away...and then he would bury Clint so these things couldn't get to him.

It didn't take him long to realize something was wrong as he tried to hotwire the car.  He hadn't even considered the possibility that it would be out of gas, but now that he thought about it, that explained why it was abandoned.

That was his first and only plan.  Sure he could keep running alone, but that would mean leaving Clint behind, and he wouldn't want to be alive if he did that.  He felt despair as he watched the zombies approaching, but he only felt it for a moment.

He'd found a way that he wouldn't have to live without Clint, but there wouldn't be enough of either of them for the zombies to eat.  And he could take out a few of them with him.  He smiled darkly to himself.  He had always wanted to go out with a _bang_.

He chuckled at his own bad joke and then thought about how if Clint had been able to hear it, he would've given him shit for it.  He wrapped an arm around Clint's limp shoulders, pulling the man close to him.  "I'll see you soon," he murmured as the zombies fell upon the truck.  He kissed Clint's temple, and the last thing Bucky did was set off a bomb.  He and Clint melted with each other and the truck, and the zombies incinerated and Bucky didn't feel a thing.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Sacrifice

"You know, I hate it when you smoke those things around me," Clint said as Bucky raised a cigarette to his lips.  Bucky sat poised with the cigarette between his lips, a deer in the headlights look on his face.  Clint had to keep from laughing.  "I'm not a big fan of the smell," he qualified with a shrug, trying to play it off like it was no big deal.  "So if you could just not smoke them around me, that would be great."

Bucky raised his brows, cig dangling from his lips.  "Alright.  After this cigarette, I'm done.  No more smoking."

"Now, hang on.  I didn't tell you to stop smoking altogether, just to stop around me."  It was true that he would prefer Bucky stop smoking altogether, but Bucky was a grownass man who could make his own decisions and whether or not he smoked when Clint wasn't around was none of Clint's business.

"Nope.  I'm done."  Bucky crumbled up the pack and Clint cringed, knowing there were still two good cigarettes in there.  Well, they weren't good anymore.  Clint hated Bucky smoking, but he also hated waste.  Bucky could have at least finished the pack before dramatically deciding to quit; it was only two cigarettes.

"Now I'm sorry I said anything," Clint said, shaking his head.  "You shouldn't feel like you have to quit for me."

"It's not just for you," Bucky said as he lit his cigarette--the one he claimed would be his last before quitting.  "Besides, I can make my own choices, you know."

"Yeah, I do.  I just feel like maybe I influenced this one."

"You did.  But you shouldn't feel bad about it."

"Why not?"

"What do you mean, why not?  You just gave me the final push to stop a really bad habit."

Clint laughed, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"I'm serious.  I started this up during the war, back when I was a kid.  Everyone smoked back then.  Hell, cigarettes were included in our ration packs."  Bucky inhaled deeply, savoring the cigarette.  "We didn't know yet what they could do to you.  When I became me again, I started craving them again, but now things are different.  There've been studies since then.  I think it's something I need to stop doing."  He looked at his cigarette, then took a drag on it.

"If you say so," Clint replied, still not convinced.

"I do."


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky surprising Clint on his birthday by using sign language for the first time (he's been learning in secret)

Bucky looked across the table at Clint.  He'd made Clint a good dinner and now that they were both finishing up, it was time for him to make his announcement.

"Clint?" he said when he caught the man's eye.  He took a deep breath, then started signing.  _You've probably wondered where I go every Thursday night._

Clint laughed with delighted surprise the second Bucky started signing.  He clapped encouragingly.

 _Maybe you've even worried I've been seeing someone else_ , Bucky continued, trying not to laugh himself.  _I haven't been.  I've been taking ASL classes to learn a new way to talk to you._

Clint gave Bucky the ASL equivalent of a standing ovation.

 _I love you_ , Bucky signed.  _Happy birthday_.

Clint walked around the table to give Bucky a hug.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Nesting. Or where Clint finds Bucky sleeping in his not-so-secret-anymore nest after a mission.

Clint was so tired, he just wanted to crawl into his secret sleeping place and get about ten hours of sleep.  When he slept in the bed in the room that had been appointed him in Avengers tower, various things tended to keep him awake: Tony tinkering with technology, Thor getting food.  Things like that.  Each Avenger's sleeping pattern seemed to be different, and none of them seemed to mesh well with Clint's.

So he'd found a quiet place in the tower to set up a sleeping space for himself.  He lovingly furnished it with bean bags, pillows, and blankets.  It was comfortable, safe, secluded, and warm.  Best of all, it was private.  Clint was the only one who knew about it, so nobody else could bother him while he slept.

Clint's bones ached from his mission, and he started stripping down to his boxers before he even reached his nest.  He climbed into it, pulling the blankets up to his chin and closing his eyes.

  1.   Something was wrong.  Somebody was in the nest with him; he could feel it.  One of Clint's feet kicked out across the nest, and there was a grunt as his foot connected with a person.  Clint's eyes flew open.



A second later, a head popped up from under the blanket next to him.  The head was that of Bucky Barnes.  "Oh.  Hi," Bucky said groggily as he struggled to sit.

"Hi," Clint said, flabbergasted.  He didn't know what to make of this.

"Is this your hideout?" Bucky asked.  "I found it a couple weeks ago and figured it was as good a place as any to crash."

"A couple... _weeks_ ago?  Why didn't we bump into each other sooner."

Bucky shrugged.  "I don't know.  I've got a pretty erratic sleep schedule, so I guess I've always just been here at a different time than you."

Clint laughed as he shook his head.  "Here I thought this place was secret, and it turns out someone else has known about it for weeks."

"I guess you're gonna move it now?"  Bucky sounded let down yet hopeful.

"Yeah, or--"

"Or what?"

"Or we could share it."

Bucky's fact lit up.  "I like that idea."

Unlike Bucky, Clint managed to repress his smile.  "Okay, so it's settled.  If you wanna stay here right now, though, you better be okay with sleeping next to an almost-naked guy, cause there's no way in hell I'm moving."

Bucky rolled his eyes as he lay back down, pulling the blankets over himself.  "Please.  I was in the army.  Do you really think I've never slept beside a naked man?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Introduction

"Mom, I'm twelve," Clint said with the exasperated tone of someone who consistently had to reassert himself.  "I can pick my own friends."  He paused.  "And I'm too old for it to be called a playdate."  Hadn't his mom ever heard of the term "hanging out"?  "Chilling"?  Either of those would be a better fit for him now that he was in junior high.  He didn't "play" anymore.

"Now, Clint," his mom replied in a warning tone.  "Jimmy's dad said he's been having trouble making friends at school.  We thought it might be nice to help him."

"Great, a charity case."

"Clint.  Promise you'll be nice to him."

Clint rolled his eyes.  "Whatever."

The doorbell rang.  "That must be them," his mom said, going to the door to answer it.  "George," she said with a smile.  "It's nice to see you.  Come inside."

A man and a boy came inside.  Oh.  Okay.  This boy was cute.

"Clint, this is Jimmy," Clint's mom said, motioning to the boy.

"Bucky," the boy corrected, looking at Clint's mom.  Then he looked Clint in the eye.  "My friends call me Bucky."

Clint just about felt himself melt when the other boy looked at him.

Okay.  Maybe he _could_ be friends with this guy.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Rain

It had to be raining.  Of course it was fucking raining.  Because this scene wasn't cliché enough already.

It wasn't enough that the night after a big fight that resulted in Bucky spending the night in his apartment (which he kept mostly for storage and sentimental value despite having moved in with Clint months ago), both men _happened_ to be wandering the streets aimlessly at 3 am and _happened_ to end up in the same place at the same time.  Oh, no.  It had to be raining.

Bucky looked at Clint with a self-effacing smile.  "Hey."

"Hey," Clint replied. 

"I haven't been able to sleep."

"Me, neither," said Clint.  Hence his wandering the streets at 3 am.

Bucky sighed, walking quickly over to Clint.  "I'm sorry.  I love you.  I miss you.  Can I come home?"

With a faint smile, Clint reached out to touch Bucky's face.  "James...I didn't want you to leave in the first place."

Bucky's face lit up.  He pulled his hands out of his pockets, cupping Clint's face and kissing him.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: parents meeting when they take their kids to class au

Back to school night at Englewood Elementary School was always an event.  Of course, Bucky didn’t know till he got there how big of an event it was.  How could he?  He’d only just enrolled his son there for kindergarten, and this was the boy’s first year there. 

Before parents met with their children’s teachers, there was a supper in the cafeteria.  Bucky didn’t care for the food and made a mental note to pack Michael’s lunch every day.

Natasha took a bite of garlic bread, then stood.  “I’m gonna go find a bathroom,” she said, heading out.

"This ‘ghetti sauce is weird," Michael complained once she was gone.

Bucky looked down at his son.  “I know.  Don’t worry, though.  You don’t have to eat this school’s food.”  He kissed the top of Michael’s head.  “I’m going to pack your lunch.”  He looked up just in time to see a very attractive man enter the cafeteria, holding the hand of a young blonde girl.  Very attractive man looked lost, so Bucky figured it was his duty to show him the way.  “Come on.  Let’s go talk to them,” he said to Michael, motioning toward the other father-daughter pair.

"I don’t wanna."

"You won’t have to have any more of the weird spaghetti sauce."

"Okay."

Bucky took Michael’s hand and led him over to where very attractive man and the little girl stood.  He put on his best smile.  “Hi.”

Very attractive man turned to him, looking surprised.  “Hey.”

"You looked like you didn’t really know what you’re doing, so I figured I’d come see if you need help."

"Um, yeah.  Where do we get the food?  And do you know when the actual meetings start?"

"Here, this way."  Bucky started leading the man toward the line for food.  "Shouldn’t we wait for your wife, though?"  Heck yeah, that was a test.

The man gave Bucky a sad smile.  “My wife passed when Sophie was two.”

Now Bucky felt guilty.  “Shit,” he cursed quietly.  Then louder:  “I’m sorry.  I’m Bucky.”

The other man smiled.  “Clint.”  He held out his hand for Bucky to shake.  “And it’s fine.  I’m used to it.”

Bucky shook Clint’s hand.  “Just because you’re used to it doesn’t make it okay.”

"Really, you’re good."

Bucky looked down at Michael, who was looking up at him with big eyes.  “You said a bad word.”

"Yeah, well, hopefully nobody else heard it."  He looked around and didn’t think there were any other parents or kids within earshot.

They got to the front of the line and Clint and Sophie each took a tray and some chocolate milk.  “I can’t believe this is free,” Clint remarked.  “Where were you sitting?”

Bucky looked to where he, Michael, and Natasha had been sitting.  Natasha had returned and was watching Bucky, Clint, and their children intently.  Her brows rose momentarily as she met eyes with Bucky, nibbling on a corner of garlic bread.  “Over there,” Bucky said, pointing to where Natasha sat next to two empty trays.  “Whoops, I guess Michael and I forgot to bus our trays.”

Clint chuckled.  “Is that Michael’s mother?”

Bucky nodded as he smiled and waved at Natasha.  “She’s my best friend in the world and has been a huge help the last six years.  Not only did she carry Michael, but she provides babysitting and shows up to things like this.”

Clint gave Bucky a testing look.  “So…you two aren’t together.”

Bucky shook his head.  “I wanted a kid, but it would’ve been kind of hard for me as a single gay man to have one on my own.  So Natasha stepped in and told me I shouldn’t let that hold me back- that if I wanted a kid, I should have one, whether I had a partner or not, and that if I was worried about raising a kid on my own, I shouldn’t be, because she would be there for me.”

Clint gave Bucky a glance, repressing a smile.  “Single gay man, huh?”

"Yeah."

"Still single?"

Bucky nodded.  “Still gay, too.”

Clint laughed.  “C’mon.  I wanna meet the woman who’s been such a big part of your life.  She sounds pretty amazing.”

"She is."

The fathers and their kids sat down and Natasha sat up straighter.  “You know, this garlic bread isn’t bad,” she said.

Bucky grinned at her.  “Natasha, this is Clint and Sophie.  Clint and Sophie, this is Natasha.”

Natasha had known Bucky for a long time, and she knew when he was trying to hit on a guy.  So when she introduced herself, she said, “Hi.  I was Bucky’s surrogate.”

Clint wouldn’t accept her downplaying her role in Bucky’s and Michael’s life, though.  He shook his head.  “From what he’s told me, it sounds like you’re much more than that.  Bucky said you’ve been there every step of the way since Michael was born.”

"It’s been nothing.  Really."

Clint shook his head again, but this time with a smile.

Meanwhile, the children began a conversation of their own in hushed tones.  “Your daddy likes only boys,” Sophie said, “and my daddy likes both boys and girls.”

The three adults paid attention to the conversation with amusement and without letting the kids know they were listening.

"What if they got married?" Sophie continued.  "Then we’d be brother and sister!"

Michael’s face lit up and he smiled.  “I’ve always wanted a sister!”

Clint chuckled.  “You two are marrying us off already?  We haven’t even been out on a date yet.”

That got Bucky’s attention.  “Yet?”

Clint looked down shyly.  “Yeah.  Yet.”

Bucky smiled to himself, nibbling at the garlic bread.  He looked up at Natasha with bright eyes.  “Hey, you’re right.  This garlic isn’t bad.”  Although it was the only part of the dinner that he liked.  He turned to Clint then.  “So, do you like coffee?”

Clint grinned.  “Are you kidding?  I couldn’t live without it.”

"Would you be interested in getting some with me on Saturday?"

"Yeah.  Yeah, I would."

 The five of them continued eating, getting to know each other better in the process.  When Bucky found out Sophie was in the same class as Michael, he couldn’t help but think how serendipitous it was.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Bucky is a punky, Freegan sociology major and Clint is his long-suffering (but supportive) boyfriend.

“I wanna take you on one of my dives.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s a big part of my life, and you’re my boyfriend, so I wanna share it with you.”  Bucky grinned.  “And I think you’d like it.”

“Buck, I grew up poor.  I was practically raised in a dumpster.”

“All the better!  I won’t have to teach you how.”

“Buck…”  Clint was hesitant.  He didn’t want to say no, because he did love free stuff, and he loved his boyfriend and wanted to support him.  But for some reason, he felt reluctant to say yes.  “We both have papers due on Monday…”  There.  It wasn’t a no, but it was a not right now that still left open the possibility of him joining Bucky on a future dive.

Bucky brightened up, and Clint could felt relieved.  He could tell Bucky got the message.

“I know what’ll help up get through our assignments,” Bucky said.  “My last haul included a bunch of energy drinks.”

Clint smirked.  “Well, that was lucky.”

Bucky shrugged.  “It happens from time to time.  How far are you on your paper?”

“I haven’t started actually writing it yet, but I know what I’m going to write and have an outline for it.  What about you?”

“I did my experiment; I just need to write my report.”

Clint nodded.  “What was your experiment again?”

“It was on how people act differently when they know they’re being watched.  I observed a guy on the train to campus.  Had my notebook out writing observations and made sure he noticed I was watching him.”

“And how’d he react?”

Bucky shrugged.  “He looked pretty uncomfortable.  Kind of angry as I watched him longer.  Sort of shooting me glares, but he didn’t actually say anything.”

“Huh.  Well maybe, if we power through our assignments, and still have enough energy from those energy drinks you found, we could go on a dive this weekend.”  He was warming up to the idea.

Bucky beamed.  “Yeah?  That sounds awesome.”

Clint smiled almost as big.  “Sounds like we’ve got a plan, then.”

“Sounds like it.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warm sweaters

“Daddy!  Papa!  I have presents for you!”

Bucky looked down at their son, surprised.  “It’s not Christmas.”

“I know.  I wanted these to be done for last Christmas, but I was overly abitious and they were nowhere near done.”

“So you got us that fruit basket, instead,” Clint remarked.

“Yeah.”  Their son pulled out a drawer of his dresser and pulled out two sweaters.  One of them said “DADDY” and the other said “PAPA.”  He handed the one that said “DADDY” to Clint and the one that said “PAPA” to Bucky.  “I hope you like the colors,” he said.  “Natasha helped me pick out the yarn.  She bought it.”

Clint held up his sweater, then looked at his son.  “This is amazing.  How long have you been working on these?”

“About a year and a half.”

Bucky looked at his sweater, then at Clint.  “Not only can our twelve-year-old son knit, but he can knit well enough to make sweaters with actual words on them.  Our kid is gifted, Clint.”

Clint nodded.  “And he managed to keep all of this hidden from us.  We might end up with another spy in the family.”

Bucky and Clint laughed, then they both hugged their son.

The next weekend, they went on a family outing, with Bucky and Clint wearing their sweaters.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The paint's supposed to go _where_?"

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. The paint’s supposed to go _where_?”

Clint sighed.  “It’s edible body paint, James.  It’s not like I’m going to coat your balls with heavy lead paint.”

Bucky crossed his arms. “Your exact words were, ‘I wanna put some of this paint on your balls, Buck.  Hurr hurr hurr.’”

“I’m pretty sure the ‘hurr hurr hurr’ part is your addition.”

“The point is, you could’ve specified from the beginning what kind of paint it was.”

Clint giggled, amused by the fit his boyfriend was throwing over something so small.  “I’m sorry.  James Buchanan Barnes, may I please put some edible body paint on your balls and then lick it off?”

Bucky eyed him skeptically. “What flavor is it?”

“Dark chocolate espresso.”

Bucky grinned wide with approval.  “Then the answer is hell yes, as long as I can lick some off you after.  That sounds tasty.”

Clint grinned back.  “Of course you can.”


End file.
